Dreams
by Red Archery Girl
Summary: Where the Heart waits:PartI His dreams of Egypt led up to seeing her then reversed. When the dreams persist Kaiba goes to the one person who might be able to help him.Trouble is she's the same girl his dreams always freeze at. Ishizu/Kaiba, I/S Sequels up
1. Surprises

Hey guys.

This story's set in Egypt about a year after the pharoah leaves. Centers mainly around Ishizu and Kaiba, but Marik and Odion will have occasional apperances too-I can make them have a bigger part in the story if you want.

Tell me what you think. Criticism appreciated if it is constructive.

* * *

Kaiba glared at the black cat sitting on the steps next to him. The cursed thing gazed back at him with huge, bright green eyes, then opened its mouth and uttered the biggest yowl Kaiba had ever heard from any cat-not that he'd had a lot of experience-and stalked over to sit right up against the door, yowling again as it did so.

Kaiba scowled at it. This was the last place he had ever wanted to come to and he wasn't exactly expecting a warm welcome either, not after he'd always been so scornful of her. But these dreams of his were driving him up the wall, and she was the only person he knew that might have an answer.

He knocked.

'Coming!' He heard a voice from inside call out.

A few moments and a couple more screams from the cat later, the door opened and the cat rushed inside to twine around the legs of the woman who stood in the doorway.

Kaiba's eyes widened. This was certainly not what he expected to see. Oh, it was the same girl alright, straight black hair-now cut to her shoulders with a couple of curls around her face-and deep coral blue eyes. That hadn't changed much. It was her clothing that had. She now wore a straight cut knee-length skirt with a black t-shirt cut to her figure and showing off her curves.

'Kaiba!' Ishizu exclaimed in amazement. 'What-this...I-you'd better come in.' She found her voice at last. Kaiba swept past her into the grand entrance hall. The Ishtars had done well by themselves in the past year since Kaiba had seen them, using their family's and Ishizu's savings to by a small mansion about fifty minutes drive outside Cairo. As far as Kaiba knew, it was just for the three of them-not that he'd paid any attention to what the Ishtars had been doing since their time in Egypt together, he just assumed that.

'What in the world brings you here?' Ishizu wore a curious expression on her face, then it changed to an exasperated one as the black cat butted against her legs and she bent down to pick it up.

Kaiba looked at her uncomfortably. He opened his mouth; found he didn't have a voice, closed it, swallowed and tried again. 'I...I came here because I thought this place might have some answers.'

Ishizu frowned as she stroked the cat's head. The accursed thing butted against her hand and started purring as loud as a motor. '_This place,_' she queried, 'or me?'

Kaiba swallowed again. This went against all the pride he'd built up slowly over the years. 'I need someone who knows about ancient Egypt.'

'Yugi?' Ishizu knew the answer before she asked.

Kaiba snorted. 'Yeah, right, like I'm really going to go to him for help.'

Ishizu raised one eyebrow delicately. _Now _he came out with it. 'You need my help?'

Kaiba scowled, but he couldn't deny it, she would see the lie instantly; his feelings were too muddled for them not to show on his face.

Ishizu let the cat jump down from her arms. 'What with?'

'I'm having dreams...'

Ishizu's other eyebrow went up; she could guess the rest but she let him finish.

'...about Egypt.'

'About Seto.' Ishizu said quietly.

Kaiba glowered at her. 'Yes,' he pushed out through gritted teeth.

Ishizu's raised eyebrows furrowed into a frown. 'About anything in particular, or-' she cut herself off, Kaiba was shaking his head. Ishizu chewed on her cheek momentarily, trying to think how to voice this question. There was nothing for it; she would have to come straight out with it. 'A lot about Kisara, though?'

She was surprised when Kaiba shook his head. 'Sometimes I dream about her, but no more than anyone else of that time.'

Her eyebrows shot up again. 'I see... How long has this been going on for?'

'A month, perhaps more.' Kaiba muttered. Which in his case probably meant more like two or three months.

'I'll see what I can do, Kaiba, but I can't help you if you don't tell me more about them. You'd better come upstairs.' Reluctantly Kaiba followed her up to the sitting room.

'Alright.' I shizu sat carefully down on one of the two couches. Kaiba took an armchair. 'Any particular time?'

Slowly Kaiba nodded.

_Gods, _Ishizu thought, _it's like trying to draw blood from a stone._ 'Kaiba, I'm not gonna question you for every single detail, if you want my help, you'd better tell me what you need help with.'

She had hit a nerve there. One of Kaiba's eyes twitched. 'They're nearly always set after the Pharaoh's death.'

'Atem?'

Kaiba gave a curt nod. 'I can't see much of a pattern, only that I always see through Se-his eyes.' Kaiba didn't need to specify who _he_ was. 'One of the people who have the millennium items is usually there.'

Ishizu leaned forward eagerly. 'So little is known about what happened to that dynasty after Atem left, Kaiba, you might hold some of those answers.'

Kaiba scowled at her. 'I'm not gonna sit here and be analysed by your questions.'

To Kaiba's surprise, Ishizu blushed. 'Sorry. It's just, through time the origins of our family have been lost. Oh, I know we're somehow related to one person or another close to the Pharaoh or his court, and I know the task that was instructed to us was to guard the secret of the Pharaoh's memories until his return, but none of us know anything beyond that.'

Kaiba shrugged. 'Never mind, I don't think I can help you with that anyway.'

Ishizu gave a one-sided smile and nodded.

Kaiba took a deep breath, then continued. '...The dreams are sometimes the same, but not often. They always end at one particular point and then seem to rewind and I see things happen all over again. Though, like I said, it's not always the same dreams, but rather, I see more of some events then I move forward to that point, only to be thrown back. I thought they'd stop if I let them run their course, but apparently not.'

'It's almost like you need a key,' Ishizu mused.

'What?' Kaiba snapped.

She wasn't fazed. 'A key to unlock whatever your dreams are trying to show you.'

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. 'Where would I find this "key" and what would it be?'

'I don't know the answer to either question. The key you seek can be anything from a person, right through to knowledge of an event, or some catalyst in your own life.'

'In which case I'm stuck in stalemate until that happens.'

Ishizu shrugged, 'If the dreams just started recently, it's likely-if the key is an event-that that event will happen soon. I just have one more question.'

Kaiba scowled, he hated to have to go to her for help, and he sensed this question would be one he didn't want to answer.

Sure enough: 'What is the last point in your dreams you always keep revisiting?'

Kaiba ground his teeth together, knowing he wouldn't get anywhere unless he didn't tell her. 'I-he always walks down a corridor and into a room... there's continuously a woman standing out on a balcony. She turns and starts walking inside, and that's the last thing I see.'

Ishizu nodded slowly. 'Sorry Kaiba, but there's one more thing.' Kaiba closed his eyes in dread, Ishizu thought it was annoyance. 'Who was that woman, do you know? Or what did she look like?'

Kaiba knew he could say he hadn't seen her properly, but that would be a lie. Plus he wanted this thing sorted out as quickly as possible. He clenched his jaw and looked at Ishizu. His answer sent her head reeling;

'You. Or, what's her name? Isis?'

Ishizu's eyes flew open. Warily she said, 'Isis was her name, yes.'

Kaiba gave one nod. 'It was Isis then. She wore the millennium necklace too.'

That last piece of information confirmed it. Ishizu put a hand to her head as thoughts tumbled through her mind of what that might mean.

* * *

Hope you like it! There'll be more as soon as possible.

Review!(and I may update quicker).


	2. Power problems

Sorry about the wait, this took me awhile to type up...(plus I had a really good book).

Well, read, enjoy and review!

* * *

Ishizu forced herself to take a deep breath. _It might be nothing,_ She reminded herself. Not that she actually believed that attempt at conviction. Slowly, swallowing twice to give herself the ability to talk without having her voice come out nervous or apprehensive, she lifted her head and met Kaiba's eyes.

He was looking at her strangely. Ishizu twitched the corner of her mouth into a forced half-smile; to try and clear the tension that had settled between them. 'You'll want to use the library.' Ishizu was relieved her voice sounded collected and business-like. 'There're books in most languages there. Though most are in hieroglyphics, there are a good deal in English too. Give me a call anytime you come to a section written in Hieroglyphics that you think might be something, I can translate that.' Ishizu paused briefly, taking a moment to gather the rest of her thoughts. 'There are also a good deal of books written in Hieratic text, that you should have no problem reading.'

Kaiba stiffened at the mention of his unnatural ability to read a language before he'd even seen it. 'Relax Kaiba.' There was a slight lilt in Ishizu's voice; he could have almost sworn she was amused at his reaction. 'I'm not going to lecture you about anything.' She cocked her head, surveying him. 'You realise you will have to stay here for the time being? It's a long drive here every day from Cairo, and you can't take the books away to study; you will need help with a lot of the referencing in them and the with the hieroglyphs. You did bring enough to stay away for awhile didn't you?' she asked suspiciously. A small part of her wondered if he had just meant to come, pick her brain, then leave again. But it was a very small part.

'Yes, I did,' he said tightly.

Ishizu was tempted to ask him if it would kill him to smile, but she decided against it. Instead she asked Kaiba to get his things, while she went to grab some linen to make up one of the mansion's many rooms.

Once he was out the door and back to his blue-eyes white dragon jet, Ishizu leaned into the door of the linen cupboard. Only half an hour ago she had been contemplating finishing off work for the day and going for a swim in the mansion's pool, not trying to sort out the dreams of a man who had always scorned her and given her a cold shoulder. Ishizu was shaken up by Kaiba's unexpected arrival and announcement, but even more unnerving was his revelation that her counterpart-Isis, was the last thing Kaiba always saw in his dreams. Ishizu had been taught about the importance of dreams as a child, and she knew that while some dreams might be pulled out from wild fantasies and be so strange they made no sense what so-ever and usually indicated the person's mind was still racing at night-some dreams, like Kaiba's, meant something and in his case, Ishizu had the feeling it was something very important.

Breaking off her train of thought, she grabbed some sheets from the cupboard and waited for Kaiba to come back in. When he did, he silently followed her up two flights of stairs to the mansion's third floor with the guest rooms. She found she was getting uncomfortable with the silence. At Battle City it hadn't mattered; when they were talking they were arguing anyway. And the last time they saw each other-in Egypt, they'd barely said two words to each other-apart from making a deal; that Kaiba would take the millennium eye to the Pharaoh's tablet and Yugi, and she wouldn't bother him about the ancient past again unless he asked for it. Providing, if Yugi succeeded, that Kaiba would come to the ceremonial duel. He had agreed, though Ishizu was relieved to find he weighed up her deal first-if he had accepted straight away, it would pretty much mean he would do anything to get her and his past out of his life. It meant at least he had come to accept some of it over the years.

Ishizu placed the sheets on the mattress as Kaiba looked around the room. It was simple enough; a bed, dressing table and closet-Ishizu hadn't had time in the seven months since she and her brothers bought the mansion to concentrate on getting the guest rooms ready beyond a bed and some pictures on the wall so the rooms didn't look so bare. These walls supported two pictures; a painting of an Egyptian dancer and a large framed photograph of the Nile.

Ishizu thought Kaiba probably wouldn't be too impressed to have anything to do with Egypt on his walls, but this was the only guest room with an en-suite.

'I'll give you a tour of the house then you're welcome to use the library or you may want to research on the computer. Or pick my brains if you like.'

Kaiba looked at Ishizu oddly as she broke the silence that had settled between then. She had an uncomfortable urge to demand why he was looking at her so strangely, but she brushed it off. Turning on her heel she walked out of the room. Kaiba hesitated, then followed her.

The house was big enough to keep them occupied for a good half-hour. It had a total of seven rooms-four for guests-a comfortable sitting area with a fire. Kaiba pointed out with a smirk that with such a hot climate, it was a wonder they ever used it. Ishizu shrugged. 'It gets cold at nights,' she replied demurely. 'Especially in winter.'

There was an ample sized kitchen and a dining room. Nothing extravagant, but then, that wasn't the Ishtars' style. The only part of the house that made Kaiba raise an eyebrow was the indoor swimming pool at the back of the house. Ishizu blushed when he looked at her in surprise. 'An indulgence.' She murmured. 'I love the water.' She looked out the glass walls that covered two sides of the area. 'And I love the view over the Nile...it's too bad it's not really safe for swimming.'

Kaiba was disturbed by the image that whipped through his mind of Ishizu coming out of the pool with her hair plastered around her shoulders and her swim-suit hugging her body. He gave himself a mental shake, not sure where the picture had come from, and thrown off by the feelings that accompanied it.

'You're welcome to go anywhere in the house Kaiba.' She thought of something. 'Though please stay away from the kitchen unless you can cook.' She begged with a twinkle in her eye.

Kaiba smirked at her. 'One thing I can't do. Care to teach me?' Ishizu was surprised he played along with her light teasing.

'So modest. And no, I don't care to have my house burned down...Excuse me.' She said as the phone rang. Kaiba slowly followed her out, bothered by how easy the conversation had become, and how familiar.

Ishizu answered the phone in the entrance hall-put there because of its close proximity to pool, kitchen and dining room. She smiled when she heard her Marik's voice, but it quickly turned to a worried frown. He and Odion had gone to an archaeological dig a couple of hours outside Cairo for the day, and it had been possible they would stay the night. Ishizu was glad they had packed for a few days away when Marik broke the news about a violent sandstorm that had hit not far from the camp, close enough that the winds and sand had caused plenty of havoc and her brothers wanted to stay to help clean up. Ishizu was glad they weren't going to risk getting caught in another storm by trying to come back tonight. Ishizu glanced out the window. She wasn't surprised at the news-it had been blustery all day, and she also wouldn't be surprised if the power went off because of the storm. By the sounds of things, it had extended up the country enough to hit part of the power lines for the Ishtar and surrounding residents-not that there was anyone for miles. She was glad they had a fire and a generator.

Ishizu thought briefly about telling her brother Kaiba was staying here for at least the next few days, and what he had come for. But she decided against it; Marik would have enough worries on his mind right now without her adding the weight of concern for his sister. Most sisters would have been annoyed at their younger sibling fussing over them if they did something that their sibling didn't feel comfortable with. But Ishizu was glad Marik was here to fuss over her, and she didn't want Odion to worry about her either. Both brothers knew she was slightly put out by Seto Kaiba, although she did respect him as a person, he unnerved her. Her brothers thought it was because of his cold approach to everything and everyone but his little brother, but that was only half the reason. Ishizu couldn't point her exact feelings, all she knew was that she wanted to know more about the man Kaiba hid behind his cold manner, and though she sometimes would be glad if he walked out and never bothered her and her family again, at the same time she was curious about him and she couldn't deny some irresistible force pulled her towards him.

So she left her phone call without the embellishment of Kaibas visit, told Marik to be careful, and disconnected. Ishizu put the phone down with an uncharacteristic smirk; it would be interesting to see her brothers' reactions when they came home, and it would also be interesting to see if Kaiba would open up a bit spending the night alone with her, or if her would remain like he usually did-cold and aloof.

Ishizu left the phone and went to check on the generator. 'Take a break for awhile.' She advised Kaiba as she passed him. 'Flying the Blue-eyes jet here from Domino won't have been effortless.'

He turned to watch her. 'Where are you going?'

'To check on the generator. That was Marik on the phone. They've had a storm at the archaeological camp he went to visit today. He and Odion will be staying the night to avoid risks and to help clean up. But the winds are still strong. We may have a black-out.' Ishizu paused. 'Actually, I could use a hand.'

Kaiba hesitated, then followed her out to the back of the house. Ishizu took a petrol canister off a shelf before she unlocked the back door, and Kaiba held back a smirk at the sight of the well-cultured woman getting the gear for a dirty job. Ishizu bent down to examine the generator, motioning for Kaiba to pour 

the petrol in the tank. Then she swore an oath in Egyptian. Kaiba looked at her in amazement. He hadn't understood what she'd said, but he understood the intent.

'This isn't going to work. It's an old generator, it came with the house.' Ishizu straightened and sighed. 'The wires running to the house are starting to fray. I don't want to take the risk of running it and setting the house alight.' She passed her hand over her face with a groan. 'I wish I'd noticed it before.' Then she shrugged. 'Never mind. I'll go get some dinner ready. It'll be left-overs I'm afraid, I wasn't expecting to have company tonight for dinner, not even Marik and Odion.'

'That's fine.'

Ishizu smiled. 'What do you normally have? Caviar and Champagne?'

'I've never liked caviar. And I don't usually take the time to savour something like champagne.'

Ishizu's smile became a grin. 'Well its chicken and salad tonight, and perhaps I'll cook up some fried potatoes. Why don't you sit down? Or you can start going through the library. I'll call you when it's ready. Oh, and pray the power doesn't go off 'till late tonight.'

Ishizu had dinner ready in half an hour, and they were finished in another thirty minutes. Kaiba helped cleaning up. He wasn't impressed in the least about having reoccurring dreams about Egypt, but he was grateful Ishizu had let him stay and offered him some help; even if he was convinced he would never tell her how much he appreciated it.

Ishizu thought Kaiba did alright with helping her clear the table. She suspected he'd never done such a thing since he became Gozobouro Kaiba's step-son. Over-all, he didn't get in the way too much, and she was finished a lot quicker than if she would have had to do it by herself.

She was just turning to thank him when the lights flickered once, then died. Ishizu scowled, not impressed at all, and even less impressed that there was no moon tonight. 'Hang on.' She told Kaiba, making her way carefully across the room by way of memory. 'Let me just get that torch I put ready in case of this.'

Kaiba stayed still, not wanting to trip on anything as Ishizu moved cautiously about the room, until he saw a single beam of light click on opposite him.

'Let's go upstairs, I'll turn on the fire for some light. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to turn in just yet.'

'I haven't duelled you in awhile, let's see if you've gotten any better.'

Ishizu looked surprised for a moment, then her face took on a challenging look. 'Alright. But one question, I didn't think you thought duelling against anyone but Yugi was worth your time, least of all me.'

'I usually don't.'

'It's just there's nothing better to do?' In spite of knowing Kaiba was normally harsh, his words hurt, especially grating on her pride as a duellist.

'I'm sorry, that was uncalled for.'

Ishizu was even more surprised now. 'An apology from Seto Kaiba? I'm amazed.'

He scowled at her, 'Don't push your luck.'

Instead of being insulted, which she had every right to be, Ishizu hid a grin. 'Come on, the power's not going to be back on tonight, and it'll be a long night ahead of us if we don't duel.'

They ended up playing four duels in the end. Ishizu lost all of them. Thoroughly annoyed she cleaned up her cards with a frown while Kaiba kept a satisfied smirk off his face.

'The only thing that's consolidating is that apart from Yugi, no-one else has beaten you either.' She told him with a scowl. She finished gathering her cards and straightened, covering a yawn. 'I'm going to bed. Um...if you want to stay up, you'd better come and take the torch back, otherwise you won't be able to find your way up to your room. It's silly that I only have the one, but one of the other two broke and we're out of batteries for the third.'

'I think I'll follow your lead and turn in.' Kaiba got up. Ishizu was horrified to find herself watching as he stretched out of the corner of her eye. Not sure the dim light would hide her embarrassed blush, she turned abruptly and walked out. Kaiba pocketed his deck and followed her.

Ishizu gave him a small smile when they reached her door and held out the torch. Kaiba moved towards her, but before he took it he murmured. 'I may not seem it, but I am grateful you're letting me stay here.'

Ishizu bit back a grin; it was just like Kaiba to thank her for the part he wanted to vocalise, and not the part he didn't, that was, for her help. 'You're welcome,' she opened her door. 'And you're also welcome for the help.'

Kaiba frowned; he wasn't sure he liked being read so easily. Shrugging it off, he reached out to grab the torch. Ishizu frowned as the light it flickered. 'Hang on.' She told him, lifting it up to examine, just as it went black.

If she was prone to swearing, she would have sworn now. Instead she settled for. 'Great, just great.' Which was still unlike her. She sighed, 'I'd better help you get up to your room, considering you don't know the house.'

'That would be... appreciated.' For some reason, Kaiba felt his blood spike at the thought of being at such close quarters to her in the dark, and it unsettled him even more than the images he'd had before of Ishizu after a swim.

'Alright, hang on.' She tried the torch a couple more times, knowing her efforts were futile, then she left it right up against the wall, hoping she wouldn't trip over it when she came back, and reached over to find Kaiba's hand. They fumbled a bit before Ishizu finally managed to get a hold of his hand and slip hers in it. _Perfect fit_, she thought irrelevantly, then wondered where on earth that notion had come from. She was glad the dark would hide her blush properly this time. 'Umm...this way.' She tugged on his hand and began to lead him along the corridor.

'Mind the steps,' she said as they got to the first staircase. After a lot of slow progress, Ishizu finally stopped at Kaiba's room. She ran her hand along the wall-which she had been doing all along the third floor's hallway; to count the doors 'till his room-and grasped the door knob.

'Thank you for this too.' Ishizu could hear the amusement in his voice. She fought down her own amusement at their predicament.

'You're welcome.' There was a lilt in her voice. Kaiba moved closer to try and get in the door without banging into the wall or doorposts. Ishizu turned the knob and leaned back against the doorframe to let him pass. Kaiba moved slowly to where her hand tugged, but as he went to slip through the door, he felt his hand brush against Ishizu and turned sideways to pass by. He ended up pressed against her.

Ishizu felt her breath catch in her throat, and automatically held on to Kaiba's hand tighter. Kaiba didn't realise how close they actually were until he felt her breath on his face. He felt his heart leap and it almost shocked him enough to let go, but it wasn't strong enough to overcome the sudden need he felt to hold her and...

For the first time since Mokuba was in danger in the virtual world during Battle City, Kaiba acted before he thought things through completely. His left hand gripped Ishizu's tighter, while the other he moved up and buried in Ishizu's soft head of hair. He heard her breath coming faster, almost like if she would have been scared, but she made no move to stop him, instead she pressed up further against him. Though any protest from her would have snapped him back to reality, her encouragement wiped his mind clean of any thoughts of sanity. His hand tightened in her hair, and he lowered his mouth to hers.


	3. Emotions

It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Kaiba's lips transported her to places she'd never dreamed of, and left her no space to regain any sanity. She moaned slightly, a sound that was quickly cut off as he clamped his mouth hungrily back on hers.

For him, it was like a dam burst; emotions that had been held back for so long coursed through him for every aspect of his life, but the only feelings he was actually aware of right now were the sensations that Ishizu's body pressed up to his sent surging through him. She was like a sip of fresh water after wandering for days-or in his case, years-without anything to drink; once he'd tasted, he had to have more.

He didn't have room in his mind to reason out what he was doing, and neither of them had stopped to think of the consequences. However, Kaiba was knocked part-way back to reality when he moved to pull her inside his room. His lips moved down her neck to her shoulder as he turned to draw her inside after him. Suddenly a jolt ran through his body; a realisation of what might occur between them if they kept up with this. He pulled back to look at her.

She stood with her eyes closed, supported by his arms. The jacket she'd donned earlier had come off at some point that neither of them remembered, he'd worked her t-shirt down to bare her shoulders and her mouth was swollen from hid kisses. Ishizu opened her eyes, looking at him in confusion with some annoyance mixed in. Slowly awareness dawned in her eyes.

Suddenly she was frightened. Not of Kaiba but of herself and her feelings, and what his intentions were. She drew back, breathing heavily, and tugging her shirt back onto her shoulders. He could see the alarm on her face, even in the dim light, and it knocked him the rest of the way back to earth. Kaiba didn't know what to say.

Ishizu could feel herself starting to shake, but she only noted it in the back of her mind; all her attention was focused on Kaiba. It was too dark to see the gleam in his eye. Ishizu waited for him to say something, anything. When he didn't, her wits began to come alive again. It all came to her in a rush. She blushed crimson with shame, though Kaiba couldn't see it, when she registered properly what had and would have happened if they had carried on the way they were. And she had had absolutely no control over herself. With no word from him to stop her, Ishizu turned and fled.

She ran blindly down the corridors to her room, just remembering to slow down in tome for the stairs. Reaching her room with amazingly, no accident, she fumbled for and wrenched open the door, shutting it fast behind her. Leaning against it, she took several deep breaths to try and calm herself-it did little to stop her racing heart. Ishizu passed and hand over her face. She couldn't pinpoint how they'd got to that moment where their lips had met, she only knew she'd lost all sense of time and place the minute his mouth covered hers.

With a supreme effort, Ishizu directed her shaky legs to carry her to her bed. Once she was there she sank down on it with a groan, wondering if she'd have the nerve to face Kaiba tomorrow, let alone look him straight in the eye and have a decent conversation with him. An unearthly yowl interrupted her train of thought. She leapt back up in fright and pain as she felt claws digging into her skin.

Ishizu knew what it was before she even switched on her bedside light. All the dim glow did was illuminate a pair of furious green eyes. She scowled at her cat. 'Move Midnight,' she grumbled, pushing the cat to one side of the bed. Ishizu lay herself carefully down next to him, thinking she should get up and get changed-she would; just as soon as her head stopped spinning-and turn off the light.

It hit her then. The light! The power had come back on. Normally Ishizu would have jumped up to turn on the bulb that gave the most light to the room; just to bask in the warm glow of it. She had spent to long underground with only torches-the fire kind-as light, not to appreciate how friendly a light felt after hours of darkness. But now she felt too embarrassed and for some reason, bereft, to do more than turn over and curl her body around her cat Midnight.

She tried to pull her thoughts away from Kaiba, but they wouldn't listen to the order from another part of her mind. So she settled for turning over the reason why he had come. To say she was curious was an understatement. She was dying to know more about his dreams, and after what had happened between them, she was wanted to know what her counter-part's role in all this was. Was it a point before a cataclysmic event in Egypt? Was it before Isis passed on some devastating news? Or was it something else? Something that had happened between her and Seto? Ishizu shuddered, and to her horror, it was not an unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought about the possibility that something like what had happened between her and Kaiba had happened between Isis and Seto.

Shaking off the feeling, Ishizu decided her nerves were too geared up for sleep right now. Since the power was back on, she thought she might do some research, see what she could dig up about the lives of the guardians that were left behind after Atem's departure. The thought stopped her short. What did she want to find out exactly? Changing plans, Ishizu went to grab her togs. Twenty or thirty laps of freestyle should have her arms begging for mercy and should tire her out enough to sleep with no dreams. Or at least, she hoped so.

Kaiba stood stiffly by the window, staring out at the Egyptian sky. It was familiar; after all, it was the same sky as Domino-apart from the significant increase in the amount of stars; being an hour's drive outside a city. However, even the multitude of stars was familiar; from a memory, or rather, the essence of one, buried deep inside him. Once Kaiba realised where that recollection could come from, he turned away from the window with a scowl.

_Damn those dreams_! He thought, scowling deeper. _And damn Ishizu_! He was well aware that last thought wasn't particularly valid. After all, it had been he who had pulled her to him and not her fault in the least. But right now he just needed to harden his heart against her so he could face her again in the morning, get what he came for and leave, as quickly as possible.

He didn't know why he had...done what he had. He didn't want to think about it in terms of the kiss. He wondered now if it had been a combination of the dark, the uncharacteristic thoughts and ideas that had been coming to him since he saw her again for the first time in a year, and the compromising position they had found themselves in that had led him to do it. But he found that as much as he tried to ignore it, there was a feeling in his gut that wouldn't go away. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant one, but for the CEO who liked to be in control of everything in his life-from his company to his duels-it was definitely an uncomfortable sensation.

He didn't want to admit it, but this wasn't the only time Ishizu had thrown him off his stride, and not just with her unnervingly calm face when he snapped or even raged at her. Kaiba broke off from his train of thought abruptly. He was even beginning to wonder if he mightn't have liked where things may have led between the two of them if they had stayed together. Or even if they would have talked once they'd broken apart. And he didn't want to dwell on those thoughts at any depth at any time. It would lead to far too many complications-most of which would be caused by his own denial and anger at not being in control any more.

Cutting his thoughts short again, Kaiba wrenched off his shirt and flung it into a corner. It hardly helped to quell the tumult of emotions racing through him and did little to make him feel better. He stalked over to the light, belatedly remembering that the power was out _after_ the light was on-obviously it had come back on, he thought, glowering for no reason in particular apart from for the frustration he had with his emotions. Kaiba surveyed the lit room with a frown on his face, then painstakingly went through the usual rituals before turning in for the night. On coming out of the bathroom, he spotted his trench-coat lying discarded by the door. It had fallen off while he was...busy. Again he refused to think about the kiss. With a curse Kaiba picked it up and flung it over a chair. He hesitated; looking at the jacket Ishizu had left behind, but left it, turning to flick off the light instead. He planned to shut out everything through sleep-a rare approach from him.

However, he had forgotten two things. The first was his nightly reoccurring dreams. The second was a lesson children are brought up with but often forget as time goes by; that the heart can't be controlled.


	4. A little more

A great big thank you to all my reviewers, especially alamoon, soo-cool and crystal-tear.

Here's chapter four, read and review!!

* * *

'_Come on Mana, try again. You've done it before, all it takes is concentration.'_

_Seto smirked a little as he watched Isis try to teach Mana to do and undo a freezing charm. She could freeze people, that was not the problem; it was the unfreezing she struggled with and Isis had conned poor Karim into being the one for Mana to practise on. Seto shook his head and turned back inside, seeing the wisdom in Shada's decision to do a scout of the city. The repairs for the city were well under way and it was a good moon since Seto's cousin and the former pharaoh, Atem, had left._

_After a hastily prepared coronation, he had set to work rebuilding the capital city and its surrounding villages with the country's finances-a move that would mean a tighter hand on his behalf for a few years, but never-the-less, it was necessary. However, the strain of keeping the country together and fending off opportunist neighbours was beginning to wear him down, and the guardians of the remaining millennium items were beginning to notice it. Seto wondered if he'd had a good night's sleep since Atem left. He doubted it._

_As his thoughts did so often now, he turned to contemplating the remaining millennium items and their guardians. He of course, had Atem's puzzle; the Pharaoh's item. It felt odd around his neck-like it didn't belong there. He was much more used to the millennium rod. He wondered if he always would be. But that was Mana's item now. No person should hold the power of two millennium items and since as Pharaoh he had to bear the millennium puzzle, he had to find another bearer for his rod. He didn't have to bother about finding a bearer for the millennium ring or eye; both had been lost after Zorc was banished back to the shadows. The millennium Key was still with Shada and the scales were again with Karim. The millennium necklace was, as always, with Isis; who now also had the duty, and Seto privately thought- trial, of fully training Mana. He still couldn't decide if he felt sorry for the woman who once was the only female in the Pharaoh's private court, or glad for her, because she was clearly enjoying the company of another female-most of the time._

_Seto strode into the throne room, cutting off his train of thought; he had business to attend to. Shimon was waiting for him by the throne. Seto held back a sigh as he stepped up to the chair. He may not have felt much like he was stepping up to fill shoes far too big for him, but he didn't feel entirely comfortable with his new position yet either._

_It took until late at night before he could conclude his day and retire for some peace. He frowned when he saw the door to his chambers was already open. Stepping inside, he relaxed when he saw the figure of a woman out on the balcony. She heard his footsteps and turned with a small smile playing over her lips._

'_Isis.' Seto greeted as she came inside._

'_Good evening. You were finally able to get away?'_

_Seto refrained from pulling a face, 'I don't see why they have to come to me first, there are plenty more men trained for the job. They just...'_

'_Waste your time?'_

_Seto sighed and shook his head, passing a hand over his face._

'_You should be flattered they trust you enough to come to you and not someone else. It is a powerful advantage to have as a new Pharaoh.'_

'_You're right, it is. But it takes up a good portion of my day, it just means I have to try and squeeze more into one day.'_

_Ishizu frowned, worried. She took a couple of steps towards him. 'Seto...it is good that the people come to you and you see them, but you can lean on others a little more. Your workload is starting to strain you, we can all see it.'_

'_I'm perfectly fine.' He snapped, a little too harshly._

_Isis took another step towards him and laid her hand on his cheek. 'No you're not...'_

The very realistic touch of Isis' hand against his-or Seto's-skin, was enough to throw Kaiba out of his dream and back into reality. He opened his eyes to the dark Egyptian night, and a crescent moon that had finally decided to rise.

With a groan, Kaiba sat up in bed. It had been futile to think that now he was here in Egypt, the dreams might stop, or that they might reveal what they had been hiding from him. Though that wasn't strictly true, he'd only ever got up to the part where Isis had come inside. Yet he had a nagging feeling Egypt itself had nothing to do with the dream progressing any further, but rather; Ishizu did-or what had happened between them did-and that unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

Deciding sleep wouldn't be much of an option for some time to come, Kaiba switched on the light and pulled on some clothes and shoes to take a walk in.

The house was eerily silent even for night time. Kaiba was crossing the entrance hall to the doors when he heard footsteps. He almost jumped out of his skin.

'Kaiba!'

Whirling around, he saw Ishizu standing in the doorway that lead along to the pool. Her hair was wet and plastered to her body, and she was clutching a towel around her.

Kaiba's mouth went dry, and he thought of the vision he'd conjured up of her earlier in the day. Shaking himself mentally, he regained his posture. 'Ishizu. I didn't think you'd still be up.'

Ishizu looked down and smoothed out the towel she had wrapped around herself. 'I couldn't sleep. 'She said quietly. 'You?'

'I managed to get some sleep.' Kaiba almost winced as his voice came out almost indignant.

'Then why are you down here? Unless...' Her gaze sharpened. 'Did you dream again?'

Kaiba swallowed a curse. _She always was quick,_ he thought grudgingly. 'Yes.' He said tersely.

Ishizu raised her eyebrows, looking even more interested now. 'And? Anything new?'

Kaiba resisted the urge to walk straight outside without saying anything; he really didn't want to tell her what had happened. Finally he said; 'actually; yes. They started talking. I've never passed the point where she came inside until now.'

Ishizu didn't have to ask who he was referring to. 'About anything in particular?'

'Not really, just that she and others had noticed keeping the country together was taking its toll on him.'

Ishizu pursed her lips. 'It makes sense, after all, all the repairs and fending off neighbouring counties preying on Egypt while it was weak would have taken a lot out of him.'

'Weren't their neighbours damaged too?'

'Not badly.' Ishizu said absently. She came towards him. 'Something must have triggered the continuation of the dream. Any idea what it might be? Perhaps Egypt?... Is something wrong?' She asked when Kaiba looked at her strangely.

'Nothing much.' He denied. 'But I don't think it was coming here.'

Ishizu frowned and chewed her bottom lip as Kaiba found himself wondering what it would be like if _he_ bit it instead. He put a hand to his head, trying to rid himself of the sudden need to have her against him with his mouth on hers.

'Kaiba? Is everything alright?'

He ignored her question. 'Yeah, I've got some idea what might have triggered it.'

'Oh?'

Kaiba gritted his teeth, telling himself this was strictly so she could find out how to stop the dreams, or unlock the rest of them, so he dreamed them once and never again. 'You.'

It was certainly not the answer Ishizu had expected. Her lips parted in a small gasp before she smothered it with her hand. 'Kaiba...'

'Don't.' He snapped. 'Just ...don't.'

She took a step towards him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Kaiba jerked around to face her and grabbed her hand.

'Kaiba...' Ishizu was sure the sudden shakiness in her voice had nothing to do with his abrupt action. She could see the intensity in his eyes as he looked at her. 'Don't...' her lips parted only slightly as she said it, she wasn't even entirely sure what she was asking him not to do. He shifted a little, so they could face each other better, and she ended up pressed against one half of his chest. She realised with a start, that if he were to put his lips on hers, this time, she wouldn't run away.

'Why not?' Kaiba wasn't sure why he asked it. She didn't reply.' He could feel emotions he never knew he had coursing through him and knew his control over them wasn't far from breaking. Ishizu's lips parted in a silent invitation. 'Damn it!' He cursed, but still brought his mouth roughly down on hers.

Her breath escaped her in a rush and her hands came up to grip his shoulders. When he moved to pull back, she dragged his lips back to hers. A car pulled up outside and they both froze. Ishizu backed away first, blushing deeply, though it was only partly visible in the moon's soft light. 'Marik wasn't supposed to be back 'till at least tomorrow.' She snatched up the towel both of them were only now aware had fallen down. Hastily wrapping it around her, she made for the door, trying to gather her wits about her and leaving Kaiba to gather his.


	5. Choices

I'm soooo sorry about the long wait. it's been what, almost a month since I updated? I had half the chapter typed up, but school and other projects meant I didn't find the time to finish it until tonight.

Thank you to all my reviewers, you guys keeped me motivated to update as soon as I can-which, I know, wasn't very quickly in this case; I always seemed to need to do something else.

Well, here's chapter 5, not as long as the last four, but I hope you guys enjoy

* * *

Ishizu reached for the door, registering only properly then that all she was wearing was a swimsuit and a towel. She shrugged to herself; Marik could say what he liked.

She couldn't ever recall a time where she was more annoyed or more relieved to have someone interrupt her. She yanked open the door. But it wasn't Marik standing there. 'Oh!' Ishizu blushed scarlet. She heard Kaiba come up behind her, gently prised her hand off the doorknob and drew her back inside, putting himself in her place to speak to the workman who had orders to do rounds of the fifteen houses that were at the end of the broken power line and check that everything was up and running.

Ishizu heard little of their discussion; she was too busy trying to cool her flaming cheeks and recover her composure. She glanced up when Kaiba asked her where the house's main was and gave him some quick instructions to it. Deciding to at least regain some of her dignity before Kaiba came back, Ishizu fled up to her room. She held her tongue against the embarrassed curses she wanted to utter for the first time in her life as she towelled her hair dry and pulled on one of her loose-fitting Egyptian dresses. Glancing at herself in the mirror, Ishizu shook her head, threw off the dress and pulled on a blue long sleeved top and one of her newly acquired pairs of pants instead.

She wondered if she should do something with her hair, then blushed again when she became conscious of the fact that she was only trying to look good for Kaiba. _Well, he can take he or leave me as I am_, she thought rather contemptuously._ What am I saying? We don't have any sort of relationship between us!_ Because that was a little too true for comfort, she began tidying up her room which was in little need of it.

'I didn't think anyone would want to be cleaning up this late at night.'

Ishizu jumped and whipped around-she hadn't heard Kaiba come up. She opened her mouth with a quick retort but closed it as quickly; it wasn't her style take cheap shots at people, not even if Kaiba had thrown her off balance again-_especially _because he had.

'Thank you for that.' She was horrified to find she was blushing yet again.

Kaiba shrugged and pushed himself off the doorpost he had been leaning on. 'I figured you wouldn't be comfortable standing there talking to a complete stranger clad in just a towel.'

'Well thank you for that act of chivalry,' Ishizu matched his detached, slightly sardonic tone. 'I did have a swimsuit on too,' she pointed out defensively.

Kaiba snorted. 'Yeah, and that makes it all so much better.'

'Alright, no need to rub it in. I'm embarrassed enough as it is.'

'Only about your attire?' he inquired mildly.

Ishizu scowled. 'Does it matter?' she snapped.

'Yes.' All of a sudden he was very close. 'Because I can make you overcome some of that embarrassment if it isn't.'

'Oh? You think very highly of yourself Kaiba.'

'Comes with the profession.'

'I'll say.' She muttered.

'What was that?' Ishizu opened her mouth to reply, but he never gave her the chance; he pulled her face towards him and clamped his mouth onto hers. The result was the same as before; she lost all sense of time and space and Kaiba himself was rocked to the core by the way her body pressed up against his could make him forget everything apart from the craving he would never admit that he had for human contact.

_Third time lucky._ The thought flashed wildly through Ishizu's mind. Then it was gone and her mind was blank again and she was drowning in their kiss.

Ishizu pressed a hand against Kaiba's chest to stop him as they came up for air. Her head was spinning and she wondered if she would ever be able to think rationally ever again, 'Stop...' she whispered without conviction.

'Deny you want it.' Kaiba demanded roughly, catching hold of her shoulders.

'Kaiba-'

'Deny it!'

Ishizu had to look away. 'I can't.'

Somehow, Kaiba felt his heart melt at her admission and the vulnerable way she looked right now. He kissed her once more, softly. Then backed away. 'Alright. I won't take it any further unless you ask.'

'Take _what _any further?' Ishizu's voice was rough. 'All we have between us is a past of bickering and a couple of kisses.'

'I don't know what's going on any more than you do.' Kaiba touched her chin with a gentle finger. 'And I hate not having control over whatever this is.' He admitted gruffly. Ishizu looked surprised at his admission. 'But I don't think either of us are in much of a position to deny some sort of attraction.'

Ishizu gave a forced laugh. 'Coming from you, that's a huge leap in, well...everything.'

Kaiba scowled. 'Watch it. I'm not impressed in the least about not having control over my emotions.'

Ishizu folded her arms, not to look untouchable, but to keep herself from reaching out to him. 'Neither am I,' she said crossly. Then she sighed, suddenly very tired. 'Go to bed Kaiba. Maybe we'll actually regain the use of our brains tomorrow-though I'm not expecting anything. If you dream further again, maybe this is the catalyst.'

'What is?' Kaiba took her chin in his hand. 'We don't exactly have a relationship.'

Ishizu jerked back. 'I'm aware of it.' She snapped.

Kaiba smirked at her. 'I'll leave if you tell me to.'

'The house?'

Kaiba frowned. 'That too, if you insist, but no, I meant leaving you right now.'

Ishizu swallowed, suddenly struck by how much she wanted him to stay and..._And what?_ The "and what" was the only thing that made her able to say; 'I'll see you tomorrow Kaiba.'

Kaiba's lips tightened ever so slightly, then he nodded. And left.

'Don't I get a kiss goodnight?' Ishizu was horrified to hear the whimper in her voice.

Kaiba kept his back to her. 'If I kiss you again now, I don't know if I'll be able to stop.'

Suddenly Ishizu didn't care anymore. 'Then don't.'

Kaiba turned with a frown. 'Don't what?'

She took a step towards him. 'Don't stop.'

Kaiba hesitated. 'Are you sure?'

'I'm sure.' And Kaiba knew she always meant what she said.

Ishizu lost her breath as he strode forward and pulled her roughly back into his arms.

* * *

Whoops, 'nother cliffie ;)

What'd you guys think?

And I'll get the next chapter written and up as soon as may be.

Review!


	6. Consequences

Yes, I am still alive. And I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, but trying to juggle exams and studying with writing doesn't really work-not if I don't want to fall asleep in the middle of classes the next day. Now its all over, and I can finally relax-and write. I've worked on this chapter in pieces when I snatched the time, and Ive finally gotten 'round to putting it up. Sorry about the wait.

* * *

'_Seto...it is good that the people come to you and you see them, but you can lean on others a little more. Your workload is starting to strain you, we can all see it.'_

_He scowled back at her. 'I'm perfectly fine.'_

_Isis stepped towards him and lifted her hand to his face 'No you're not-'_

_She broke off abruptly when he grabbed her hand and held it away from him._

'_Seto?' Her voice held a quaver in it they both heard._

_Seto-or Kaiba-narrowed his eyes. 'And you? Something wrong?'_

_Despite her complexion, Isis blushed and yanked her hand away. 'It's not me we're talking about.'_

_Seto was amused to see she was flustered. 'No?' He raised an eyebrow, glad to be away from the topic of himself, for now._

'_No. Seto, you know you can't push yourself forever. Sooner or later you'll collapse.'_

_He folded his arms. 'I pride myself on being able to push without collapsing.'_

'_Pride can be a bad thing more often than a good one.'_

'_Really? Then what do you suggest?' He stepped towards her, aiming to gain the advantage with his height, but the move-because of Isis' same shift before-put him torso to torso with her. He did have the height advantage, but had to take the consequence of the awareness of her body pressed against his addling his thoughts-at least that was how he saw it._

_Seto saw her gulp and move to step back. He reached out to grasp her hand. 'Afraid of something?'_

_Isis froze in position, and slowly looked up to meet his ice blue eyes, taking the time as she did so to clear her eyes of any betraying emotions. 'Should I be?'_

'_Perhaps.' He lowered his head an inch and noted the flicker in her eyes of...fear? Worry? Desire? He couldn't be sure. 'Perhaps not. It depends.'_

'_On?' Seto was satisfied to hear she couldn't keep her voice entirely neutral._

'_What you want.' He dipped his head to hers, indulging in a fantasy that had been playing on and off in his head since he met her, but more and more frequently lately._

_He wasn't prepared for the emotions that assaulted him nor was he prepared for the sudden fervour he wanted her with. Maybe she sensed this, but after yielding to the kiss for only a moment, Isis broke and-foregoing any poise-ran. Seto made no move to stop her, her was too busy trying to reign in his feelings, regain composure, and determine the consequences of what he had just done all at once..._

_*_

It wasn't the birds Ishizu heard first thing the next morning. It was the front door of the house slamming closed. _That'll be the boys_, she thought sleepily, rolling over and fully intending to go back to sleep. She found her body pressed up against someone else's as she turned over. Suddenly she was wide awake. Things wouldn't have looked so bad if she was in Kaiba's room; she could have wrenched her clothes back on and made a dash down the stairs with her brothers none the wiser. But there was no way to explain Kaiba's presence in _her_ room, in her _bed_, without telling them the complete truth if they came up now or anytime soon.

But she could buy herself some more time to think.

Quick as a wink, she darted out of bed and over to her clothes that lay discarded on the floor. Kaiba muttered crossly and pulled himself up to look at her as she did so.

Ishizu tried desperately to get last night's events out of her head. She couldn't decide whether she was sorry for what happened, just plain embarrassed or neither. Her judgement was clouded by the euphoria she was for some reason feeling. Either way, putting it out of her mind wasn't going to work and she could feel her cheeks heat up as Kaiba watched her.

He rubbed a hand over his face as she dashed out of the room, and tried to order his dream and reality in his mind. Unfortunately, neither was a topic that could be easily ordered.

***

Ishizu tried desperately to smooth her wrinkled top, already regretting not taking the time to change into a clean, _unwrinkled_ set. Her mind was racing as she tried to think up what to tell her brothers. One thing she could not do was lie outright-her face always betrayed her. Even a white lie she wasn't comfortable with. The best thing to do would just be to leave whole segments of events out-and not try to find some other explanation to fill the gaps. Her choices were her choices, just like her brothers' decisions were theirs, and they all tried not to interfere in that. But Ishizu wondered how her brothers would take it if they found out she'd slept with Kaiba. She cursed mentally as her cheeks heated up again. And they would not be pleased that she hadn't told them over the phone he had come.

Racing down the stairs, she saw Marik dragging a large travel bag inside. 'Hey sis'.' He grinned up at her.

Ishizu took a deep breath as she cleared the last few steps to the ground floor, and cleared her throat quietly. 'Hello. How bad was the damage?'

'Pretty bad. We're going back in a couple of hours. I just stopped back to get some extra clothes; we'll be gone for a few days. And to see if you wanted to come along.'

Ishizu frowned. 'Why didn't you just call me? I could've driven out with your things. It would have saved you a trip.'

'True, but...' He patted the bag he had lugged in, 'I wanted to get these somewhere safe. One of the tents with a whole the major part of the books and scrolls for this dig got hit. I don't know how much of it is here, but what is is completely muddled.'

'So you brought it back to me hoping I'd do the tedious work while you were outside?'

'Jeez Ishizu, where did that come from? They needed a safe place, and I wanted to see if you wanted to help out.'

Ishizu bit down on her tongue, obviously her current state of emotional turmoil extended to snapping at people. Doing her best not to scowl at herself and-for some reason-her brother, she shook her head. 'I'll take the books, but I can't come with you right now.'

'I thought so as soon as I saw the jet. Why is Kaiba here? Or did Mokuba learn to fly it and come over for a visit?'

Ishizu carefully checked her voice. 'Mokuba's still in Domino at school as far as I'm aware. Kaiba flew in last night.'

Marik's eyebrows snapped together. 'Before or after I called?'

Ishizu met his eyes squarely-relieved that she could. 'Before.'

'I...' He looked past her shoulder and gave a nod. 'Kaiba.'

Ishizu turned as he came down the stairs. 'Marik,' he replied shortly.

Ishizu knew there would be tension in the air at some point or another, whether it was with her and Kaiba or Kaiba and Marik, she didn't know. But she didn't expect it now, when so little had been said. She couldn't even say where the unease came from. _Me_, Ishizu realised suddenly, and shook herself mentally, _it's just me._

'Kaiba came to...' She trailed off, glancing over at him. 'It's not my story to tell.'

'I came to pick your sister's brain on ancient Egypt, as she so kindly put it when I arrived.'

'Uh oh, interrupted her work did you? She gets cranky when that happens.'

'I'm not sure.' He glanced at Ishizu, frowning a little because she had exactly the same reaction to him when he was interrupted.

'Suppose doesn't matter. Why are you here Kaiba? I thought you wanted nothing to do with us ever again.'

'I didn't. Circumstances changed. '

'Uh huh.'

Ishizu rolled her eyes as Kaiba danced around the topic. _Kaiba dancing-that was a thought_, she felt the corner of her mouth twitch. 'I'll let you boys chat and take hours to get the story out of each other, I'm gonna look through those scrolls.'

'Heavier than it looks,' Marik warned.

Ishizu's eyes widened as she tried the bag. She scowled, then decided to kill her shoulders and back to get it up the stairs and to get her some breathing room.

_What's wrong with me?_ Ishizu thought as she slumped into her work chair after dumping the bag of books and locking the door. _Oh gods, I'm so embarrassed. Why?_ Ishizu wondered suddenly. _It's not like it's a crime to sleep with a man but...me..._ Ishizu rubbed her eyes, hard. She jumped when a knock came on the door.

'Who is it?' She called out warily.

'Me, come on sis', let me in.'

Ishizu breathed out in relief at the sound of her brother's voice. Slowly, taking the time to compose herself, she opened the door for him. 'Something wrong?'

'Are you okay about being alone in the house with Kaiba?' He scanned her face anxiously. 'I can stay.'

'Marik, don't worry. What's Kaiba likely to pull?' _More like what am I likely to pull? _'I'll be fine. Besides, he's so cold to everyone but his brother,' _he wasn't cold at all last night_, 'We're unlikely to do more than exchange the occasional word until we find a lead to answer what he came for.'_ As long as we can both keep a leash on our desires, feelings or whatever they are._ 'Did he tell you why he came?'

Marik shook his head. 'But if you don't think it's anything dangerous, I'll leave it up to him to tell me eventually or not.'

'That's fitting, and no, it's nothing dangerous. How long will you be gone?'

'I was gonna say a week, but with Kaiba here-'

'Marik...' Ishizu's voice dropped dangerously.

'Okay, we'll compromise. Five days.'

'Marik!'

'No more, but I'm okay with less.' When she just scowled at him, he sighed. 'Didn't think you would be. I'm gonna go pack, I won't be long. If he's gone in the next few days, come over to the camp.'

'I will.' Ishizu went up on tip-toes to kiss her brother's forehead. 'You be careful too.' She told him, knowing he would tell her the same thing if she gave him the chance.

'Yes _mum._'

Ishizu chuckled. 'Don't forget to drink plenty.'

'As you're always reminding me. I will, I will, and I'll remind Odion. Happy?'

She simply smiled and dragged the bag of books over to her desk to have a look at. Marik left, and she began to sort. None of it was really new. Some documents she'd never seen before, but the content was practically the same as other texts she'd studied. Glad to have some structure back in her life, she sorted through them until Marik left half an hour later.

'I'm surprised you didn't go with him.'

Ishizu glanced over at Kaiba after she came inside from waving her brother off. 'Why?'

'I'd have thought you'd have wanted to avoid me.'

'You came here for my help. The journey seems pretty pointless if I leave and my brothers aren't here to help you either.'

'I could always go and come back.'

'Would you have?' Ishizu eyed him sceptically.

'Perhaps, if the dreams still persisted.'

Ishizu nodded. 'I'm going to make breakfast.' If it hadn't been for last night she wouldn't have bothered; she would have just told him to get his own bread-she was sure he could manage that without burning the kitchen down. All she wanted to do was buy some time, especially to think.

Kaiba snagged her elbow. 'Let me ask you something.' Her eyes narrowed. 'Are you trying to avoid me; first ducking away when I came down and now again?'

She could have said no, but it would have been a lie. She could have said yes, but that would have hurt her pride. She settled for; 'Maybe,' and jerked her arm out of his grip.

He wondered if he should tell her about his dream, but... to heck with it, he thought, he hadn't been acting normal or sane since he arrived the previous night, might as well put all the cards on the table, get the answers and leave, before he found anything to tie him to staying longer. He didn't know why he would; with any other girl he wouldn't have seen or been bound by any strings attached. But Ishizu wasn't any other girl, and because of it, Kaiba didn't want to think of the implications or consequences last night's affair would have. 'When you're done, I need to talk with you.'

_Here it comes... _Ishizu thought.

'I had some developments on the dreams.'

_Oh!_ '...Okay.' Ishizu didn't know what else to say so she gave a nod and quickly made a beeline for the kitchen, leaving Kaiba staring after her with more than just confusion and frustration over his dreams plaguing him.

* * *

Tell me what you think. (Review!!)

And this time there won't be a five week break between chapters.


	7. Falling

Finally all my holidays away from home are over (I've just been away for two weeks camping), and I started on this chapter pretty much as soon as I got home. I really only ment this story to be five chapters, but then, most of my stories end up being longer than I intended. After this chapter, I'm getting on to the home stretch with this story; a couple more chapters and I'll have wrapped it up.

Merry Christmas every one, have an awesome day!

* * *

'So, what kind of developments? Just further into the scene?'

Kaiba gritted his teeth. 'Basically, yes.'

Ishizu scowled and folded her arms, sitting back upright. 'Kaiba, I said you needed to volunteer the information if I was going to help you. I can't prise it out of you with any sort of tools. If you want to know how to stop the dreams, I'm going to need to know what they're about.'

'Fine. He kissed her and she ran.' He snapped.

Ishizu blinked at him a couple of times. 'Oh...' she trailed off, not really sure what to say, and found herself blushing again. She bit down hard on her lip to try and take her mind off the topic to get the extra colour off her face. She was not easily flustered and besides being annoyed that Seto Kaiba of all people could accomplish this, she was not used to functioning while being mortified.'

'What's wrong Ishizu? Nothing to say?' Kaiba sneered.

Ishizu's head jerked and her eyes met his for a brief instant before flicking away. This time it was Kaiba biting his lip; he had seen the hurt in her eyes and knew he should have been more tactful, especially after last night. 'Look, I'm not used to not being sharp with people. I am even with Mokuba a good portion of the time.'

'Is that some form of an apology?' Ishizu raised an eyebrow delicately.

'The only form you're gonna get.' Kaiba folded his arms.

'I see. Come with me.' Mystified, Kaiba followed her as she got up and left.

'You'll want to start here,' Ishizu said as she opened the door to the Ishtars' library and went over to a section. 'These are books in Japanese and English-you do read it?'

'Yes-'

Ishizu cut him off before he could say more. 'They're books written at the time of Atem's reign and during the beginning few years of Seto's. When you get to the hieroglyphics, give me a call.'

'How long did he rule for?'

'Who? Seto?' Kaiba gave her a brisk nod. 'Until he died. Approximately thirty years.'

'Hmm... What do you want me to look for in here?'

Ishizu blinked. 'Keys to your dream. Maybe something that happened in his reign. I could tell you what I know, but reading the actual text will be more likely to trigger the dreams than me telling you; I may miss pieces.'

'I doubt it.'

Ishizu frowned. 'That I might miss events?'

'That too. But mainly I doubt that these books will trigger the dreams more than you will.'

Ishizu froze, afraid what he was going to say. Carefully, she schooled her expression and voice before meeting his eyes squarely. 'Why?'

'Because I think I've already found my key.' He looked at her intently for a split second, then moved.

If Kaiba had given her time, Ishizu would have snapped at him that she would be damned if she was helping him finish his sequence of dreams by giving him herself, but he didn't. He trapped her against the bookshelves and pressed his mouth to hers.

Like before, she melted under him and all common sense fled her head. _You already have,_ her head whispered to her. _You've already given him yourself and you're close to falling head over heels in love with him. Perhaps when you've fallen, his dreams will stop, then he'll leave and break your heart._ 'No!' Ishizu planted a hand on Kaiba's chest and tried to push him back. He took his mouth back from hers, but still kept his body pressed against her. _You'll never get over him, and he'll forget about you. You'll mourn your whole life and he'll never give a damn about you,_ that nasty voice told her. Ishizu ducked under his arm and fled.

For a moment, Kaiba saw Isis running away, then the image was gone, and Ishizu disappeared around the corner.

***

Ishizu skipped stone after stone into the Nile while trying to get her thoughts and emotions, mainly the later, into some sort of coherent form.

She knew all too well that history repeated itself. What had happened to Isis and Seto after Atem left? She'd never really bothered to try and find out after Yugi and his friends went into Atem's memory world, because she was sure a document detailing Seto's life as Pharaoh did not exist; as a child, she had often searched and found nothing. It was also unusual that in all her visions of the millennium necklace, never once had she seen a scene of Isis' life after Seto became Pharaoh. Long before Yugi found out about the Pharaoh living in his puzzle, Ishizu was aware of her ancient counterpart.

A pharaoh had to marry to secure the throne. Traditionally he married his sister, but Seto did not even have a sibling, nor had Atem. So who did Seto marry? Though Ishizu knew very little about his rule, she did know that Seto had a son to succeed him on the throne. Who was his wife? A foreign bride? If so, what did the scene from Kaiba's dream mean? A broken heart for Isis? Perhaps the female guardian left the palace? Or...

Ishizu rubbed her head, she didn't want to think about the 'or' and her head was whirling from all her unanswered questions. And why was Kaiba dreaming these particular dreams? As a warning? To give him a second chance? At what? This life? Love? Ishizu pressed her fingers hard against her temples. She didn't want to know where all these questions would lead, and in the meantime, they were making her head hurt. She had learned to cope when scenes or questions of the past were made known to her by her necklace or otherwise. But she'd had little experience dealing in the past where Isis was concerned, and she was sure she wouldn't be able to deal with Isis' life as calmly as she had dealt with others'.

And the fact remained that, while part of her problem was rooted in the ancient past, her immediate problems were far more pressing, and they worried her far more. For, while the past might repeat itself, it didn't always have to, so what was going to happen between her and Kaiba? What had happened? And most importantly, what was she doing falling for him when she had experienced how cold he could be many times before?

* * *

Make my day; REVIEW!


	8. Realisations

A big thank you to all my reviewers throughout Dreams; you guys keep me writing even when I think I might take a break from this story and the comments keep me fixed on finishing this. So, thanks.

Happy New Year everyone! Have a good one!

* * *

Kaiba refused to follow Ishizu out, instead he pulled out a book that looked promising, titled; 'A record of the lives of the Pharaoh's and the Egyptian court.' He figured if there was nothing about Seto or Atem at the beginning, he would just skip to the next one. But a lack of sleep for months because of the dreams, and the fact that he hadn't had much sleep last night at all, plus his disinterest in books that had nothing in them to do with the dynasty he was after; sent him off to sleep after in the middle of the third book.

_He was sure it would be uncomfortable when they met each other alone again. He was right; he just hadn't quite expected it so late-three days later in fact-or in her scrying room, meaning she had the advantage in environments. Seto scowled as detoured through the room as part of a scenic route to the gardens. He needed to talk to her, otherwise-knowing her as he did for the past two years- she would have even more of an advantage when they were next together because she'd had plenty of time to think._

_He knew he shouldn't have given her this long to stew, but country business coupled with reluctance from both sides to meet meant this was the first instance he had free to talk to her where he actually knew where she was. Isis didn't look up when he came in. She'd heard him and guessed who it was, but she bought time to compose herself and give herself more of an edge._

_Slowly she looked up over the blue flames towards her Pharaoh. 'Seto. An unexpected pleasure.'_

'_Is it?' He smirked at her. And relaxed slightly when her lips quirked. 'Courteous, as always. Did you know I was coming to see you?' He gestured to her millennium item._

_Isis touched it lightly. 'You know as well as I do I rarely see visions related to any of the guardians of the millennium items. No, I didn't, but you're not the type who is able to ignore events that have happened. I knew you'd come to me eventually.'_

'_To what? Apologise?'_

'_No' Absently, Isis tugged on her headdress. 'To smooth things over. You know people don't function to their utmost ability with animosity between them, knowing and acting on things like that is what makes you a good Pharaoh.'_

_Seto ignored the compliment. 'So you expect me to dismiss the other night as something that created hostility between us-'_

'_It has-'_

'_And as nothing more than, say, animal instinct?'_

_Isis turned to look out at the courtyard so he couldn't see her face. 'It was just primeval instincts acting, Seto. There was...'She swallowed, 'Is some sort of attraction between us, but you're the Pharaoh, I'm a lady of your court,' seeing the possibilities of that, she hurried on; 'And we have a duty to watch over Egypt, even two years after Zorc was defeated, we still need to be vigilant, we-'She stopped short as Seto came over to her._

'_Don't you ever stop being logical? And this time, you're not doing a very good job of convincing me.'_

_She planted a hand on his chest. 'I can't be with you.' Her voice sounded panicked._

'_Interesting, I never suggested that.'_

_She met his eyes with the light of battle burning in hers. 'I know you. You don't have to suggest it; it's in your eyes. We can't...you need to take a bride for Egypt-'_

'_I know.' He already had one in mind. The trouble was in convincing her. He saw Isis' eyes go wide when she merged together the look in his eyes and their conversation. He knew she'd understood, and because of that, he tightened his grip so she couldn't run away again._

'_I-I can't.' Her eyes were panicked now, as well as her voice._

_With a sigh, Seto loosened his grip. 'You can go if you want to, I won't speak of it again unless you ask, but answer me this Isis; what are you so afraid of? Me?'_

'_No.' She gulped and looked down. 'Me.'_

'_Suddenly he understood, and because of it, he could smile. 'That makes two of us.' He murmured._

'_That's scared of me?' It was an effort, but she raised her head and cocked an eyebrow._

'_As well, and that makes two people that are scared of themselves.' He reached for her, and this time she didn't resist as he pulled her towards him and dipped his head to hers._

Kaiba jerked awake. His foot hit the book that had fallen to the floor. Slowly he bent down to pick it up. He never fell asleep during the day, and he only ever had one dream a night, until he came to Egypt. Did that mean they were finally coming to a close? Did this progress mean they were ending? He desperately hoped so. He was sick of the dreams and would be more than thrilled to pick up his old-normal-life back in Domino...wouldn't he?

But it would mean leaving Ishizu. He couldn't say why he suddenly cared, there had been other women before her, never proper affairs-he didn't have time for that-but there had been other women. And none, not one single woman, had come close to the way Ishizu had made him feel pretty much since he set foot in her house. No, he lied. Since the moment he met her, she had been a constant source of frustration, entertainment, cool headed logic he didn't want to hear, determination-single minded determination. She was a woman who would do anything for those she loved, was a good friend to those who gave her the chance to be, and was a constant source of wonder for Seto Kaiba.

_Hell, when did she start to matter so much?_ He passed a hand over his face. There was an answer to that, one he didn't want to hear; deep down, she had always mattered, right from the point he had met the raven-haired beauty at the Domino museum and she had stood up to his temper without flinching, pursuing the road she had always followed until it finished.

And now, as fate would have it, here he was, after he thought all that shadow realm nonsense was over, after her path had taken a sharp turn and her old life had ended; he had been drawn to her again, only this time the road was far different than any one they had taken before and both of them had no choice but to follow it. And somewhere along the way, he'd gone and fallen the rest of the way in love with her.

He clenched his fists at the realisation, his temper starting to boil at the same time. He liked his life without any unexpected turns and was furious he had no control over how he felt for Ishizu. Suddenly he didn't care about the dreams anymore; he just had to get out of Egypt and away from her.

* * *

Okay, now things are really starting to happen...and I left it at another cliffie...for some reason I like them, sorry, but you'll just have to bear with me.

Next chapter is already under way and will be up in a few days...let's see how Ishizu reacts to Kaiba going...

So, what do you think? Review!


	9. Too Much

It would take too long for him to pack, and there would be too many awkward questions. He had to get out _now_, before he lost his mind. Kaiba grabbed his briefcase with his deck, duel disk and work in it. The thought that he was running away from his problems brought him up short. He never, _never_ ran away from anything.

Scowling, Kaiba threw his gear back into his suitcase, and brought both cases down to his jet without even glimpsing Ishizu. With a frown and a carefully sealed off heart he went to find his host.

Ishizu was sitting calmly by the edge of the Nile, running her hand slowly through the water. But looks are deceiving. Her eyes flashed up as she heard Kaiba approach, but she didn't trust her face enough not to turn round. 'Hello Kaiba, did you find anything?' Now she turned, and frowned at the stony expression on his face. Smoothing out her face again, Ishizu carefully got to her feet.

'I came to thank you for your help,' Kaiba started without preamble. Ishizu's brows snapped together. 'But I have to get back to Domino. It was foolish to come here, or maybe not so much, as my dreams now continue past their original freezing point. They should continue like that and within a couple of days should be gone completely. Thank you also for your hospitality.' Kaiba turned to leave, unfortunately, he hadn't reckoned on Ishizu's temper, which had started to boil at the start of his speech.

She felt the blood seething through her veins and flushed very hot. She knew the signs that she had lost her temper, and for the first time in her life, she didn't care. 'You think, you can just waltz back into my life when you feel you need someone to answer your questions without compromising your pride too much.' Her voice was dangerously low.

Kaiba didn't hear the warning in her voice. He scowled at her words. 'Watch what you say to me-'

She lost it. 'Don't you dare threaten me, Kaiba! You've put yourself up on a pedestal for so long you don't remember that other people have feelings. It's always the same high and mighty attitude from you _Seto_, what puts you above everyone else? You think you can just walk in, throw my life into chaos and walk out again as you please? Did you really think I wouldn't have something to say against it?'

'Listen,' Kaiba's voice dropped and became icy, he lifted a hand to her shoulder to grip it and make her take note 'I worked to get to where I am today, I-'

Ishizu slapped his hand away in midair 'Oh, I know. You think I don't know what it takes to get to get to a top position? I had to fight my way to my position in the Egyptian government, going against all my upbringing and against the men who still put their gender far above females. And all the while I was terrified what the fate of my brother was going to be; the boy I had become both a sister and a mother to after our mother died giving birth to him. I had no-one to turn to; no friends and no family. I couldn't get close to anyone because who would believe me if I told them the truth about myself? I didn't even have my little brother like you had Mokuba. If you worked hard enough, you would have been given your position anyway. But I had to fight for my place in the world, for my brother and bear the burden of the millennium necklace alone, so don't you dare tell me you worked to get where you are while I managed to earn my place by default!'

Kaiba took a deep breath to steady himself, he hadn't expected Ishizu to have such a terrible temper behind her. But there she stood, fists clenched, cheeks flushed and eyes burning into him. 'Interesting. But I'm not in the least bit concerned about your past. I make my way in the world my way, and I don't let myself be tied down-'

'And last night?' Ishizu's voice took on another tone, she wasn't just angry as Kaiba had thought; she was livid.

Kaiba paused, considered, then decided to make the break clean, rather than telling her it had been one of the best moments of his pitifully love-starved life. 'My mistake. But these things happen.'

She slapped him, one that would leave a nasty bruise; although she looked like she could be a push-over, years of digs for ancient artefacts had resulted in plenty of strength in her body. Shocked, Kaiba raised a hand to his cheek. 'How dare you!' She shrieked. 'How dare you think that everything would be fine and dandy if you slipped into my bed one night and out of it back home the next! Did you think that was part of some sort of Egyptian style package? I-'

'No.' Kaiba caught her wrists. 'I didn't, and you're a fool to think so.'

Her eyes flickered and Kaiba saw a flash of passion and something else in them before her temper began to drain away. He wasn't sure why, but that single flash almost melted the ice that had been forming around his heart for so long.

Because she felt tears threatening, Ishizu shoved him away and walked quickly to the Nile's banks. 'Get out of here.' She drew a shuddering breath, 'And if I ever see you again, remind me not to rip your eyes out.'

Coming from her, a threat like that had weight. 'Ishizu-' What could he say? Nothing. Kaiba turned on his heel and walked away.

Ishizu didn't turn at his retreating footsteps. The engines of the Blue-eyes white dragon jet started up and the jet moved up into the air. She finally turned on when the thrusters kicked in and she saw the gleaming jet streaking off east. One of the tears that had gathered in her eyes fell. Ishizu brushed angrily at her eyes and bit down into her bottom lip to stop any more from falling. She'd be damned if she cried for him.

Kaiba was gone, now she could regain her footing and take up her normal life again. But how was she supposed to do so when she felt so empty inside?

***

Marik shielded his eyes as a truck pulled in at the camp. People often came and went at the camp, especially after a storm, but this particular truck... 'Ishizu!' He called out as his sister jumped out.

'Oh, Marik...' he saw her composure waver, then fix itself back in place.

'Is everything alright? I thought you were spending too much time with rich boy to come over to help?'

Her facade was not easily going to stay in place, Ishizu thought grimly. 'I was...he left.'

'Oh. Okay, did he get what he came for?'

Ishizu's lips trembled. 'No.'

Marik saw her distress. 'What happened? Did he hurt you? By god, Ishizu, if he did, I'll wring his neck from his head.'

Ishizu placed a hand against her brother's chest. 'Leave it Marik, I'm kicking myself enough already without you adding fuel to the fire. The last thing we need is Kaiba threatening us with a lawsuit because you attacked him.'

'If it was warranted, it wouldn't matter.' He continued to look murderous.

'No.' Ishizu forced a smile. 'It would matter, because Kaiba's one of the most successful businessmen in our world, and you're going to have no chance if he files chances against you. Just leave it. He didn't hurt me anyway.'

Marik frowned at her tone. 'Then why do you look and sound so lost?'

Ishizu cursed and turned to look around at the camp, blinking back the tears she thought she'd locked away. She should have remembered Marik could always make her smile when she was sad, or failing that, he had a way of letting her open up and cry the hurt out.

'Come on Ishizu, out with it, what did he do to you?' Marik gripped her shoulders roughly after he came 'round and saw the tears in her eyes.

Ishizu shied away, 'Nothing that wasn't my own fault too. I could kill Kaiba right now, but all he did was walk away. I'm as furious at myself for-' She broke off with a sharp indrawn breath.

And then Marik saw it. 'You were falling for him.'

Ishizu scowled. 'Why me of all people? Why couldn't it be some pretty model that he would quite happily hang on him arm and pose with in-front of a camera?'

'Because she would bore him to death. What about his feelings for you?'

'I don't know and I don't care!' Ishizu tried to sound detached and failed.

'Wrong. You do care, you do want to know and you were too scared to ask him before he left.'

She snarled at her brother. 'Why should he tell me what he's feeling? This is Seto Kaiba; he's like a block of ice. Oh gods, why did I have to-' She pulled herself up abruptly once more.

'What? Sleep with him perhaps?' Ishizu looked mortified. 'Oh gods, really? You of all people!' Marik gave a hoot of laughter. 'My modest, perfect sister! Uh...' he coughed to clear his throat when his sister started to look murderous towards him. 'Don't worry about it 'Shizu, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's more something you can be proud of; you let yourself go for once in your life.'

'Who cares?' Ishizu folded her arms to try and gain some comfort she needed that she wasn't getting from her brother. She had come out to the camp half because she needed company and the other half because she wanted work she could lose herself in and so forget. 'I'm never gonna see him again so what does it matter either way?'

Marik was about to congratulate her on not letting it bother her, but something in her voice stopped him. He looked closer at her eyes and saw the grief clouding them, something he should have looked more closely at to start off with. He cursed himself. 'Oh man, Ishizu, you weren't falling for him, you have fallen in love with him.' She went very still.

'I guess you-' he broke off, unsure of what to say, and not liking his sister's silence. 'You'll fall in love with someone else Ishizu, there doesn't have to be only one.'

'Maybe.' She sounded doubtful.

Marik sighed. He knew Ishizu knew her own mind and was always logical, he admired her for it. But if she was so deeply in love with Kaiba, she thought she wouldn't love another, then there was only one thing he had to say; 'Go to him. You have to tell him how you feel. Or you'll spend your life wondering.'

'I know. But I can't go to him. I don't know if I can stand being turned down, but I don't think I can stand it if he laughs or says he doesn't even feel slightly the same way.'

'Ishizu...damn, I thought I'd never have to tell you this.' She turned to him with a frown and Marik drew a breath. 'Two years after Atem left his cousin Seto to rule Egypt, Seto married, for love. It's recorded. Only, I could never let you see the scrolls; you had to shape your own destiny. He married the bearer of the millennium necklace; Isis.'

'Me.' Ishizu whispered quietly.

'Yeah.' Out of the corner of his eye Marik saw Odion coming towards him, but when he focused again on Ishizu, she was gone. 'Hey!' He called to her retreating back, 'Where are you going?'

'Domino!' Ishizu threw back over her shoulder.

* * *

Hmm, Kaiba was definitely a jerk, but then that's my fault. On the other hand, maybe not entirely my fault 'cause he is a cold man-most of the time.

Next chappie's the last. Yah! Will he accept or reject her? For me to know and you to find out. Mwahahaha.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. **Review!**


	10. The Time to Decide

Alright guys, this is it; the last chapter of Dreams!!

I'm glad I've finished it; meaning I can concentrate on it's sequel and Back to Cairo, but I'm gonna miss writing it; it's been fun working on it (even if I only meant it to be five chapters at the most).

A big thank you to all my reviewers, namely alamoon and anon goddess; thanks so much for the constant reviews!

The sequel to this is now up: 'Going Back'-though it's really more of a companion. It takes place just after this chapter, and is a complete Mai/Joey fic; don't like, don't read. There will be snippets in it to tell you where Ishizu and Kaiba stand, but really, the sequel to that is what you should look out for-it'll take place with both couples in Domino and will also have Yugi/Tea in it too. Keep an eye on my page cause I don't think it's gonna come up under the Ishizu/Kaiba pairing.

Well, here it is-the last leg; Enjoy! (and review)

* * *

Ishizu folded her hands tightly in her lap as the plane took off. _Am I doing the right thing?_ She wondered nervously. _Oh, what does it matter? I haven't been thinking straight since he waltzed in yesterday...it was yesterday. Gods, everything's been happen so fast, I feel like my emotions have been put in overdrive and my head's having trouble keeping up._

Ishizu gave Egypt a mental fair well then took out a translation she'd been working on the previous day-she needed something to keep her mind occupied on the twelve hour flight from Cairo to Japan. Unfortunately, her mind kept drifting away from the script until, after five major mistakes, Ishizu crossed out all the work she had done on the plane and gave up.

The lady at the end of the aisle asked if Ishizu could keep an eye on her toddler while she went to the bathroom. The little girl eyed Ishizu with big hazel eyes and chewed on her thumb. Ishizu frowned in annoyance and shook off the train of thought that led her to wonder if she had kids, what they would look like. Or more specifically, what her and _Kaiba's _kids would look like. She did not want to go down that track at all. To distract herself, Ishizu tickled the toddler under the chin, and was rewarded with a shrieking giggle and a big grin.

Her mother smiled when she came back. 'Do you have kids yourself?' She asked, un-strapping her girl and sitting her on her knee.

Ishizu hid a grimace as her thoughts backtracked to wondering about her own kids-if she ever had any. 'No. I'm not even married, which might be seen as okay in some countries, but it would still be a huge scandal in Egypt.' She made a face. 'Especially for me.'

'High job or strict family?' The lady asked with a smile.

'High job. My brothers would be shocked and concerned, but not scandalised. Though, my upbringing was strict.'

'That's always hard,' she bounced her toddler on her knee. 'I don't know from personal experience, but my mother left a strictly catholic family to marry my dad. They're really happy together, but she admitted to me that before she and my dad got married, she bucked against the system for years before she felt comfortable enough to make her final decision and leave it.'

'It is hard.' Ishizu recalled her own difficulty adjusting to a normal way of life above the desert sands.

'So,' the woman smiled, 'let's talk of lighter things. Why are you flying to Japan?'

Ishizu's mind scrambled for an answer, 'Um...visiting purposes.' Not lying, but not the whole truth either.

'Family or friends? Family can be so hard sometimes, can't it?'

'I'm not sure, all my family lives...near me.' Ishizu decided she didn't want any sympathy because her brothers were her only family in the world. Then she cursed herself, what was she supposed to say now? I'm going to visit my lover? She pressed a hand to her mouth to stop a hysterical laugh. 'Friends. What about you?'

'I'm on my way to visit my grandparents in Australia. They're too old to make the flight, and now Femeke's old enough to fly with me and my husband thought we'd make a holiday out of it. And a buying trip. He's thinking about setting up business there, so he went over a week ago. Knowing him, he'll have bought a house in Perth and be telling me we're immigrating. Not that I'm going to complain; I'm an Aussie girl through and through, and I've wanted to go back home for years to live, but something always came up.'

Ishizu needed nothing more than that speech to decide she like the woman and her sunny nature. 'Well, good luck with that, I know how sentimental a person can get over home countries. I love Egypt. Actually, I felt quite at home in Australia, parts of it reminded me of Egypt.'

'Like the snakes and spiders?' The woman gave her a wicked grin.

Ishizu smiled back. 'Stop, you'll make me homesick.' _Which is another reason I don't want to live with Kaiba in Domino...hang on, how did I go from just seeing him to living with him? Damn. Why does all this have to be so complicated? If he admits that...well, then I don't know if I can leave him. But I'll miss Egypt terribly. Then again, I do like Domino as a city...I wonder if I can just stop thinking for hours at a time? It would be handy now; it means I wouldn't have to land with a head and heart ache._

***

She landed with both, and nerves jumping in her stomach. Ishizu wished Ann, the lady she had sat with on the plane, a good flight for her remaining twelve hours and went through the arrivals gate. Glad she didn't have to wait for her suitcase, Ishizu hoisted her carry bag up on her shoulder and made for the airport exit. Maybe it was silly that she had only taken one bag, but she had no idea how long she'd be staying, and she'd given up trying to pack a small suitcase because of her never-ending argument with herself about false hope. If she needed more clothes or other essentials, she could always go out and buy them, otherwise, she didn't see why she couldn't live without for a little while.

Ishizu checked the time as she made her way over to the cab stand; nine o'clock. Kaiba would probably be at work. 'Where to miss?' The lady driver asked as she leaned in the window.

'Kaiba Corp?'

'Hop in. It's about a ten minute drive.'

_Great, no time to prepare myself,_ Ishizu thought with a mental sigh.

When the car pulled up alongside the office building, Ishizu paid the driver and forced herself to step out, not ask the lady to take her back to the airport. Ishizu took a deep breath and walked in. She saw a problem as she walked over to one of the receptionists; if Kaiba didn't grant her permission to come up, she couldn't talk to him at all. _Then I'll just find a hotel, have a rest and confront him at his mansion tonight._

'Yes miss?' The woman behind the desk raised an eyebrow.

Ishizu took a deep breath and ordered her voice not to quaver. 'I need to speak to Seto Kaiba.'

She had the receptionist's full attention now. 'Do you have a booking?'

'No. But can you call him? It's urgent.'

The lady was about to turn Ishizu away, and say that she should make a booking and not disturb her boss, when she saw the desperation in the Egyptian's eyes. _It couldn't hurt that much just to call him, _she decided. 'Name?'

'Ishizu Ishtar. Tell Kaiba...tell him he owes me a few minutes at the very least.'

Now the receptionist was really curious. She buzzed the CEO's office. 'A Miss Ishizu Ishtar here to see you sir. She says it's urgent, and that you owe her a short audience at least.' The lady frowned and wondered why she had tacked the last bit on and risked Seto Kaiba's icy rage at being disturbed. Then she remembered the desperation in Ishizu's eyes and had her answer.

Ishizu held her breath for Kaiba's reply. She wondered if he was even in his office after a few moments' silence. The receptionist frowned; her boss was usually very prompt with either dismissing or admitting people.

Finally a clipped, 'send her up,' crackled over, and Ishizu let out her breath, then quickly reminded herself that she had only crossed the first hurdle; the hardest bit was still to come.

'I'll take you up.' The receptionist smiled at her. 'It's a big building and I've had people getting lost even with step-by-step instructions.'

Ishizu wrung her hands as the elevator began its accent, careful that the receptionist wouldn't see how never she was. _What am I going to do if he pushes me away again?_ She wondered fearfully. _Go back to Egypt and try and get on with my life I guess...what am I gonna do if he asks me to stay?...I have absolutely no idea. This is crazy, what am I doing here?_

The elevator beeped and let them out on the top floor. 'This is Mr. Kaiba's office.' The receptionist walked over to the only door on the left side of the floor. 'Go right on in. I'll leave you to it if you're okay with everything.'

'Yes. Thank you.'

The lady smiled. 'Don't let him bit your head off.'

Ishizu gave her a strained smile back, and waited until the elevator had started it's decent before she knocked. The door slid open almost immediately. _Automatic door, handy,_ Ishizu thought irrelevantly. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.

Kaiba sat at his desk with his hands clasped together and leant with his elbows on the desk. 'I didn't expect to see you again, and certainly not so soon.' He said mildly.

Ishizu's eyes flicked quickly up to search his, but they were clear of any emotion. _This is it!_ 'I had to come Kaiba.'

'Really? Why? To chew my head off some more?'

'Maybe. You look tired Kaiba, not enough sleep? Are you still having the dreams?'

Kaiba gritted his teeth as last night's dream came flooding back-he'd been trying to block it out all morning-and the feel of Isis in his arms, or rather, Seto's arms. Either way, she felt the same as Ishizu had done, and it made him wonder if it had been a serious miscalculation on his part to leave so soon. Heck, he had even started to think-before he cut off that train of thought-why he had left Egypt without Ishizu.

_Direct hit,_ Ishizu thought. 'Regardless Kaiba, I didn't come here to rail you.'

'No?' His eyebrows shot up. 'What did you fly twelve hours at the cost of a couple of thousand for, then?'

Ishizu tried to speak, but the words suddenly clogged up in her throat. Swallowing, she tried again...And found that Kaiba had got up and come 'round the desk to stand in front of her. Ishizu stared up at him; she knew he was trying to overpower her-that wasn't going to work, but if he wanted to make her more nervous, he was succeeding.

Kaiba, on the other hand, had a strong sense of déjà vu; in Ishizu's place he saw Isis, and suddenly he wanted her out-before he made a fool out of himself. 'Why did you come?'

'I had to talk to you-'

'Let me guess; to scold me for taking advantage of you? Or something of the sought?'

'No.' Kaiba's eyebrows shot up. 'And I'd be foolish to try and argue that, considering it was my decision that had you sleeping with me. And I didn't come to rip your eyes out either.'

'Well, that's a relief.' Ishizu scowled at the heavy sarcasm in his voice as he turned and walked over to the window.

'Do you want me to? I'd be quite happy oblige right now. See, I've got two options; one is, like I said, to rip out your eyes, the second is...'

'What? To fall upon me and kiss me senseless?'

Ishizu winced this time at the sarcasm. _It's now or never._ 'Um...yes, something like that.'

She could see his body stiffen drastically, and he slowly turned. 'Why?-'

'Leave the sarcasm,' Ishizu waved away any more remarks. 'I know very well you don't display emotion easily Kaiba-apart from the other night.' Ishizu smiled nervously at him, trying to ease the tension by teasing him some. 'But Kaiba, although you may or may not have seen it, I've admired you from the off. I've also been curious about who you really are, I know I learned a lot more after you came to Egypt-'

'Really?' He sounded detached. 'And what's your diagnosis?'

Ishizu shook her head at his persistent want to sound like he didn't care what she was saying. 'You're cold Kaiba-'

'Tell me something I don't know.' He was shocked that he actually was hurt by the fact she considered him cold, and the fact that he still could be hurt in ways other than through Mokuba and his company.

'Can you let me finish? Otherwise I think I'll lose my nerve.' Kaiba frowned contemplatively, but inclined his head in acknowledgement and listened. '-but that ice is only a surface layer. You do care, though you never want to let on that you do because you believe you will lose face. But Kaiba, you'll only lose face if you don't admit it. Everyone has feelings, even you, the only person who it seems isn't able to believe that is you. You're only human Kaiba. You can be kind if you are forced to chose a way to act quickly, and not have time to think if it'll embarrass you or not. You might be something of a workaholic and a cynic about any sort of magic, especially to do with ancient Egypt, but you do know you bury yourself in your work, and you do acknowledge your Egyptian past, even if you won't admit it.'

'What's your point? Do you want me to say congratulations, you figured me out, or no, you missed some bits?' He scowled at her.

'No, I just want you to realise that I know what I'm getting myself into when I say I've fallen in love with you.' She drew a sharp breath as Kaiba went very still. It had come out so quickly. She had meant to say it, but she thought she'd give them both a bit more time to prepare-especially Kaiba. She forced herself not to cringe as his face went black.

'You fool, what have you done?!!'

Ishizu blinked at him; she certainly hadn't expected that sort of an answer. 'I won't take it back.'

'Don't I know it.' He put his head in his hands. What she hadn't seen was that he was melting inside; she'd broken though the ice he had used to wall off his heart.

'Kaiba ...?' Ishizu bit her lip as he looked up at her furiously.

'Couldn't you have left it alone and stayed back in Egypt-things would have rightened themselves eventually.'

Ishizu opened her mouth to reply, then frowned. 'Are you talking about me or you?'

He glared at her. 'God damn it, what changed?'

'Kaiba...do you feel something for me? Please say so if you do. If you don't...well, then I'll go back to Egypt and you'll never have to hear from me again. And please, don't lie to me.' She clasped her hands behind her back tightly, digging drown harder into her bottom lip with her teeth to keep reign on her nerves.

Kaiba stared at her for a long time. There was no going back now, she had started a dam burst of emotions and he knew that there was no-way that overflow had stopped. Ishizu jerked as Kaiba grabbed her and kissed her hard. 'Damn Ishizu, what did you do to me?'

Ishizu blinked at the warmth in his voice. 'I take it you do care th-'

Kaiba covered her mouth with his hand. 'I love you.'

Ishizu yelped in surprise and dragged his hand away from her mouth, 'Then why did you leave?'

'What do you think? Because I didn't want to love you.'

'And now you...'

'I suppose I'll get used to it.' He scrutinised her as Ishizu hid a grin. 'How long were you planning on staying?'

'It depended on what you would say.'

'And...'

'I'll stay as long as you want me to, though I will have to fly back to get my things.'

'That's easy enough to organise.' He kissed her once more, gentler this time. 'Come on, I'll leave work for the day; let's go home.'

She raised her eyebrow at him. 'I take it you want me to stay then?'

'For as long as you want to.'

Ishizu smiled up at him, 'Deal.'

* * *

Well, what did you think? Everyone; Please **Review!!**

And don't forget to read the sequel.

See you guys soon!


End file.
